Tag Archives: AARP

For many boomers and seniors, talking about plans for their later years with their children is not a hot agenda item. But it should be.

Planning for long-term care represents a carefully thought out decision to be made with the help of an extended care professional. You need information so you can make educated decisions about the care you may need – and Your LTC Resource is a great place to get the facts for yourself and help with your future health needs.

Just as you need that important information, your adult children do, too. Make time to sit down with your adult children and honestly discuss your preferences and your decisions. Ed & I are fully ready to help you discuss the many options for Long and Short-Term Care (and the many new hybrid plans) available to you. That talk with your kids? It’s something we’ve always recommended.

Recently, we ran across a down-to-earth guide called, “The Other Talk; A Guider to Talking with Your Adult Children About the Rest of Your Life.” The guide provides tips for honest discussions about such tough topics as:

Who do you want to help manage your finances, and how will you budget for unknown needs?

If you need assisted living, where do you want to live?

Where can your children find the documents and information they’ll need to help?

What type of medical treatments do you want — and not want?

Who will advocate for your needs?

It’s good, and very reasonably priced (available in paperback for $9 from Amazon, and on Kindle for $8.55). Click HERE for a link for more information on this book.

Education, information and frank, open talks. All three are the keys to making smart decisions, and communicating honestly with your family. ~ Ed & Elise

According to an AARP poll by the Public Policy Institute, Americans fail to understand that employer, private health insurance and Medicare do not cover the extraordinarily high costs of Long-Term Care.

I mean, how much clearer can things get? We’re talking about nursing homes, hospice care, assisted living, home health care … almost none of this is covered and almost all of us will need some of it during our lifetimes.

So what’s going on here? Aren’t people listening? Apparently not, the Public Policy Institute poll found. When people 40 and older were asked how they were preparing for the reality of aging, two thirds said they’d done “little to no” planning for long-term care. Three in ten admitted they would “rather not think about getting older” at all. Some were hoping their families will step in and care for them.

Here’s the reality: You may be lucky enough to be part of a very close-knit family. That doesn’t mean they — or you — understand the full extent of what that care-giving will entail.

No surprise: Those who had already experienced providing care to an older family member – as I have – when questioned in the poll, were less apt to say they would rely on their families. Like me, they’d seen how difficult it can be to provide long-term care services without professional help.

Long-Term Care is no Do-It-Yourself proposition. Making sure you have the financial power to ensure that you and your family members can have the right kind of help at the right time is what Long-Term Care insurance planning is all about.